Jun 23, 2011

The Best of... Ernie, According to Jarrod Fairclough

Jarrod Fairclough - See? Didn’t I tell you I’d be back?

Hello sports fans, and welcome to my new series, entitled ‘THE BEST OF: ACCORDING TO JARROD FAIRCLOUGH.” In each article, I will be showcasing what I personally perceive (oh, that’s alliteration) to be the best of an individual character, based on a viewing session on SesameStreet.org. I’ll be bypassing the famous sketches, such as "Banana in the Ear," "Rubber Duckie," etc., and do some different, possibly more obscure sketches. I’ll be diving straight in, no hoo-ha, no waffling, no going on and on and on and on and on and on and on and on... and on. We begin today with Ernie, and some of my favourite sketches of his.

In this sketch, Ernie is speaking to Gladys the Elephant on a banana. Well, he’s pretending to, anyway. And throughout the sketch, he coaxes Bert in to joining in the fun. And while I think this scene is really stolen by Bert, and believe me, it will make an appearance in The Best of Bert, Ernie just plays off him perfectly, showcasing some great chemistry between Steve Whitmire and Frank Oz, who I’m 99% sure is performing Bert here.

This sketch is Ernie doing what he does best to his old buddy Bert: just ticking him off. Bert goes to read a book about pigeons, and Ernie discusses with him that it’s always good to read when it’s quiet. He then demonstrates some noises that make it hard to read, such as a dog barking (Steve’s had practice – Ernie’s bark sounded just like Sprocket!), and a car honking. He then starts beat-boxing and scatting away to the radio!

I think I love this sketch. It is just genius, the way that Ernie just doesn’t care that he ruins Bert’s hats, so he doesn’t have to make a decision which one to wear. Sure, the sketch is meant to be about same and different, but I can’t help but think they just made this sketch for the fun of it.

FAVOURITE ERNIE LINE: I don’t really have one for this sketch, because otherwise I’d be typing out the entire thing. Just watch it, and you’ll see what I mean.

There’s been a blackout on Sesame Street in the middle of the night! And Ernie can’t decide if he wants to watch television, or listen to the radio, both of which he can’t do because the powers out. Ernie decides to ring someone on Sesame Street to let them know the powers out, but he chooses Oscar, who gets mighty angry! The sketch is brilliantly written, with Ernie’s naivety coming in to play well. And the ending is just brilliant!

FAVOURITE ERNIE LINE: After being berated by Oscar for ringing in the middle of the night, and with Oscar demanding to know who called him, Ernie coyly and hesitantly replies... "Um... It’s Bert."

Now here is a pairing I don’t think we’ve seen enough of... Baby Bear and Ernie! These two play off each other brilliantly! In this sketch, Baby Bear and Ernie discuss the importance of porridge, of which Baby Bear is excited to eat! Ernie informs him that he had porridge that morning, so he isn’t hungry... But someone who is hungry is Goldi-Duckie! Of course, this is just rubber duckie in a wig, but Ernie can’t hold her back, and suddenly Baby Bears porridge has been contaminated by Ernie’s playtime. And make sure you stick around for the end, for Goldi-duckie’s return to Baby Bear’s porridge!

Again, another Baby Bear and Ernie sketch, where Ernie again ruins Baby Bear’s fun. This is possibly my favourite Ernie sketch, just because of his playful nature towards Baby Bear’s show. It’s almost as if he knows that he’s ruining it for Baby Bear, but he realizes it’s just so gosh-darn funny! It’s got the same vibe as the Bert’s Hat sketch from before, and you can tell just how much fun Steve was having during this. In the sketch, Baby Bear is doing his own show, and Ernie intervenes and wants to draw along, then deciding to change it up a bit.

FAVOURITE ERNIE LINE: "Maybe I could add a tail! Oh, and some flowers!"

That’s 6 of my favourite Ernie sketches, and believe me, I could find dozens more! But in order to keep this thing short, I’ve decided to stop it there. Now, I realize most of these are Steve Whitmire’s Ernie, but let me assure you that was accidental. It was just that all the Jim Henson sketches were pretty well known, and I wanted more obsure ones.

I'm a little late to post this, but Ernie was always one of my favorite Sesame Street muppets. I adore him singing "I Don't Want to Live on the Moon," and I also loved the sketch with Ernie and Bert in the Egyptian tombs (though to be honest, it kind of scared me as a kid). I guess these are probably too well known, but they're still my favorites.